What Happens in The Body Shop
by LadyJoa de Robinson
Summary: Bella has always been fascinated by the adult world, which, for her, comes in a little store called The Body Shop. She was intrigued by the scent, the shelves, the transparent bottles... and a boy who looks the same age as her. 'I am Edward,' he said. And for a moment, Bella's cheeks resembled those belonged to someone who has put on a pink powder blush... A lot of it.


Hey everyone! :) This is another Twilight fanfic, which is about a human Bella and a human Edward when they were kids. I haven't set an exact age for them, but from what you will read, you will find out that that they are pretty young.

This idea came to me a long time ago when I was trying out some new The Body Shop products. So needless to say, this story revolves around the Body Shop and when Edward and Bella meet for the first time.

The title as well as the story may change - despite the fact that me and my beta Louise Risa have read through it a couple of times, some parts, I believe, can be written in a better way. Maybe I will revisit this story in the future, but until then, I hope you will enjoy this version of _What Happens in The Body Shop_. ^_^

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It was a fine Saturday afternoon; Bella was sitting on the sofa flipping through pages of adverts in a magazine, her mouth pulled down in annoyance as she turned each page with frustration, muttering as she went.

'No. No. No. No. Eww! No!' Bella yelled when she encountered an advert where a man was staring at her provocatively; or it was supposed to look provocative to others. He was wearing nothing but boxers; and with no shirt! Turning the page so quickly that she almost ripped it off with her newly acquired strength, she continued, with a novel apprehension of what's just behind each page.

She was looking for a gift for Mrs Rosalie Hale, or Mrs Rose, as she liked to call her. Because she was as pretty as a rose, Bella thought. Not that she knew what roses really do look like, but she knew they were pretty flowers, and they were good things, like Mrs Rose. She was her favourite teacher, ever since she helped Bella to take back her new pink highlighter with little hearts on it from Lauren, who took it away from her when she was not looking. She was very kind to her, and Bella wanted to give Mrs Rose a present because it was going to be her birthday next Wednesday. And it had to be special because she wanted Mrs Rose to feel that she was special. Everyone should feel special on their birthday, don't they?

She reckoned that she could just give Mrs Rose her pink highlighter, it was pink and pretty and Bella liked it. But she wasn't going to. And it wasn't because that she liked her highlighter so much (she really did like it though) but because Mrs Rose needed 'adult things'. Bella wasn't sure what adult thing was, maybe it was the weird pencil her mom used around her eyes, or the glasses Daddy used to help him see, but it certainly wasn't a highlighter. She shouldn't give Mrs Rose 'child things', because Mrs Rose was an adult and she wasn't going to give her stuff she didn't need.

So that's why Bella was now sprawled on the beige sofa, doing 'research', as how adults would call it. She was going to find 'adult things' and ask her mom to buy it for her, using her own money of course (her own money from her parents, that is), so she could make it pretty with wrapping paper and give it to Mrs Rose. So far, her research hadn't been successful. They were either too ugly, too big, too small or were just something that Bella didn't understand. She saw some weird looking crayons by YSL (she didn't miss the fact that that name sounded like W.O.O.H.P from Totally Spies, a show she really liked*) and a woman was using the crayon on her lips! Maybe they wanted to draw a picture, mused Bella as she thought about her mom with her black pencil. Maybe adults didn't draw on white paper like they did. Bella wondered if she could draw on her face like her mom and the woman in the magazine did someday, it looked like a pretty difficult thing to do.

Her dainty hand stopped to a halt when she saw another advert. The advert was white and has little green leaves on the edges. In the centre, there was 2 pink bottles with purple flowers on them. One of them was labeled 'Gel Douche' and another 'Body Milk'. Underneath, there was a sentence – A new collection by the Body Shop: Moroccan Rose**. Bella didn't know what 'collection' means, nor did she understand the word 'Moroccan', but she knew the word Rose. It was Mrs Rose's names. When that thought struck her, she knew that the two bottles were going to be her present to Mrs Rose. Of course Mrs Rose had to use the 'Gel Douche' and 'Body Milk', right? Also, the bottles were by an 'adult' brand called the Body Shop. 'The' made the brand sounded very important, and adult-ish. She only used Radox*** when taking a shower and she knew it was a 'child thing'. After all, Radox was not named 'The Radox' for some reasons, like 'The Body Shop' did. So, she concluded proudly, she was going to get the two pink bottles for Mrs Rose and she was going to like it.

Bella never understood her parent's smiles when she refer to her knowledge of 'adult things' and 'childish things', it was like they knew something she didn't. And this time wasn't any different. Her mom just smiled at her and told her they would go to the Body Shop tomorrow while her dad let out a chuckle. That's weird, because Dad never responded when he was watching a baseball game unless something really amused him, but her mind didn't dwell on that for long. She was disappointed that they couldn't go today, but mom said that they were going to have dinner and then Bella had to go to bed at 9. And that night, Bella did nothing but wished that 'tomorrow' can arrive sooner.

The next day, after eating her cereal (Coco pops in a yellow box with a good-natured monkey smiling at her), she was already pulling her parents out of their house. Bella thought that she might have to act like an adult and tried on outfits for an hour like mom and made Dad stand beside the door for a long time before they went out- she was going to an 'Adult place' after all. But she just couldn't wait any longer. Running out with the wind blowing her hair to her face and excitement bubbling like soda in her chest, she hopped to the car and didn't complain when her father, always a good police, buckled her in.

The drive to Seattle took quite a long time, but they were finally there. In a mall filled with adult clothes, adult food and just adult things in general. Bella, sandwiched between her two parents, led them to a random direction, where she thought 'the Body Shop' was before being steered gently to the opposite direction by her mom with her warm hand.

Bella never knew what an 'adult store' looked like, nor had she ever thought about that, but she knew it when she saw it. The Body Shop. They walked through the glass door and were instantly welcomed by a sweet and pleasant aroma. In front of Bella's round, brown eyes were wooden shelves filled neatly with bottles in different colours, like rays of rainbows. She turned her head left and right, trying to absorb all that new information in. So that's what an adult's place is like. Her mind mused with wonder.

She was left alone by her mom to walk around and 'explore' while she went to get some 'toiletries'. Slowly, almost cautiously, she took timid steps around the shops, looking at shelves so tall that they towered over her tiny frame. She thought about whether or not she could reach that high up when she became older, but decided that it was possible. After all, adults could do anything, couldn't they?

After a long time, she finally found what she was looking for – her present for the nice Mrs Rose. She didn't remember what the bottles looked like exactly on the page, nor could she recall the colours appeared in the magazine, but she definitely knew the word 'Rose'. She would know it anywhere.

With her feet standing on tip toes and her hand reaching up with triumph, ready to grab the two bottles – one at a time because her hand was not big enough - , she was slightly startled when there was another small figure next to her. She stood back down and turned around, and was met by a little boy who looked like he was on the same age as her.

'Hi.' He waved with his blue long-shirt clad arm and Bella frowned. Boys. She thought with distaste. They had cooties. Bella didn't know what cooties were, but she knew it wasn't a good thing. So boys weren't a good thing either. She wanted to stay away, but she remembered her mom teaching about being polite, so she didn't move.

'Hi.' She said shortly, hoping that he would stop talking.

'I am Edward.' The little boy continued as he looked at her, which made her cheeks to become a delicate shade of pink. And for a moment, she thought about how much she resembled the angel she found in an advert, selling a 'blush' from 'benefit San Francisco'****. She wondered if she looked pretty to Edward. Not that she cared, but she just wanted to know. She has always been curious.

'Bella.' She was slightly relieved when the boy didn't shake her hands, like how her dad and Uncle Billy did every time they met, but she was a bit disappointed as well. After all, they were in an adult's place so they had to act like adults, and she secretly wanted to know what a handshake would feel like.

After her answer, Edward didn't reply. Frowning (you shouldn't just ignore someone after a conversation), Bella's hands were about to reach the bottles again when she was interrupted.

'Who are these for?' He asked softly, wondering why girls liked pink so much. He knew it was supposed to be a 'girl' colour, but still. It was really ugly, and bright, and odd and… well, girly.

'They are for my teacher, Mrs Rosalie.' Bella's smiled returned when she thought of Mrs Rose happy expression upon seeing her gift. She may even give her a pink smiley sticker because of her 'effort' and 'intelligence'! Somehow, Bella didn't want Edward to know about Mrs Rose nickname. It was her little secret between her and Mrs Rose, and she didn't want to share.

Edward nodded thoughtfully, as though deliberating in his head like how adult did before his emerald eyes visibly brightened with surprise.

'My mom is called Rosalie too!' He told Bella his new discovery. Wow! He thought happily, who knew Bella's teacher would share the same name with his mom? He wondered if Bella would think that he was smart (it was a really big discovery after all), not that he really wished she would, of course.

'Wow!' Bella spoke, clearly impressed with this new piece of information. Then, a thought dawned on her and she frowned slightly.

'This can't be.' She said, while crossing her arms. So that she could look bigger and more powerful, she reasoned, thinking back to how her mom would do that when she tried to get Bella to finish her broccoli (when her mom did that, she always got what she wanted). She looked like an adult now, she thought as her heart swelled with pride and happiness and she looked at Edward, thinking that she had won because her arms were crossed, which meant that she was correct.

She waited for Edward to marvel at her sudden spur of 'adultness' or her smart comment (she felt pretty smart after all), not that she really wanted him to, of course, but Edward just looked at her, looking dumbfounded and confused. Boys, she sighed in her mind while conjuring up her explanation with her little brain. Then, she lowered her voice, like how Mrs Rose did when she was about to explain something.

'My dad is Charlie and My mom is Renee and my dad's friend is Uncle Billy and his dog is Jake and my friend is Angela and my classmate is Mike and Mike's friend is Jessica and Jessica's friend is Lauren and Eric is Eric and Seth is Seth and Leah is Leah…' Bella rattled on, clearly not noticed that Edward's face held confusion that grew stronger each second as Bella continued. Her voice got a bit squeaky when she started to run out of breath and her cheeks start heating with exhaustion but she didn't care.

'and Sam is Sam…' Bella opened her mouth but then found out that she has run out of people to talk about. She closed it then opened it again. 'Well you get it now?' She asked him before she took in a huge breath of air. Explaining stuff to people left her breathless; she wondered how Mrs Rose could do that every day.

But then it could also be how Edward was looking at her with intensity (well you can't blame a child when she couldn't tell the difference between confusion and intensity). Dad sometimes would look at Mom with intensity (or so Mom says), and Mom told Bella that it always leave her breathless.

'What?' Edward looked at Bella, not understood a word she was saying. She spoke too fast and he only caught words like 'Angel' and 'leave'. Or maybe it was because he stared at Bella's eyes for too much. Her brown orbs looked like those giant Cadbury Chocolate buttons; not that it wasn't a good thing.

'Well.' Bella took a deep breath before she started to explain again. Children were children, she huffed in her mind. They never listened.

'All I am saying is that my dad is Charlie and my mom is Renee and my dad's friend is Uncle Billy and his dog is Jake and…' This time, she was able to stop herself before she got carried away. Looking at Edward, whose face was still clouded with confusion, she tried again with a different approach. 'I mean that people have different names. This is why my dad isn't called Renee or Jake or Uncle Billy, because other people have these names. Just like how Mrs Rosalie has her name.' She concluded proudly, Edward had to understand this time. 'So your mom can't be Rosalie.' She spoke again, making her point clear. Now Edward simply had to believe her.

'Oh…' Edward's brows knitted together as he digested Bella's words in concentration. _The_ Bella had spent time telling him things, so he had to remember and understand, so that Bella would be happy. Mulling over the words, Edward's lips pressed into a thin line. It made sense, but at the same time it didn't. Bella's logic was correct but his mom was really called Rosalie, just like how his dad was called Emmett.

'But my mom is really called Rosalie,' Edward started softly, like how he would object to an adult. There must be some mistakes, he thought. And it would be Bella's mistakes, because Bella was Bella and Edward was Edward. And Edward was always right.

'Well then your mother was lying,' Bella dismissed quickly. How could she be wrong? Her logic had been very well explained and it actually made sense (unlike the 'what is 2 x 3' that the teacher tormented her with). Bella should be right; she was the smart girl here. Children, they never grew up. They were always stubborn and thought that they knew everything.

'My mom was not lying!' Being a man, Edward felt the need to protect his mother against such a horrible assertion. How could Rosalie not be Rosalie? Lying was bad, and Mommy didn't do bad things. Ever. Bella simply did not understand. Surely she would agree with him once she knew how nice his mom was.

'Then you are lying!' Bella replied stubbornly and her nose scrunched up. Someone must be wrong here (and it wasn't Bella, of course). If his mom was not lying and Bella was not lying and Mrs Rose not lying, which she never did for she never did bad things, ever, then Edward must be the one lying.

'I am not!' Edward yelled back with more volume, under the false thinking that Bella would find him more convincing if he spoke at the top of his lungs. Bella was evil – she was terrible to his mom and now she said that he was lying! 'Be nice to a lady', his dad always told him and he always promised to do it (and he did, in the beginning). But Bella was not a lady – she is a bad monster! Like a Tom and Jerry episode he just watched, when Tom pretended to be a mouse so that he could become friends with Jerry and take all his cheese away*****. The monster Bella had disguised herself with a pretty, dainty human shell but Edward wasn't fooled (now).

'You are! I know you are! How can you be so 'infuriating'?' Bella talked back, using an adult word to make her sound more matured (as if she wasn't already matured enough). She once heard her dad said it and she asked him for the meaning. He replied that it meant annoying. Bella filed that new word away in her brain, knowing that she had to use it someday (because knowledge is power). Well, she was right.

Edward blinked when Bella used an 'adult word'. How could she use an 'adult word' when she knew he wouldn't understand? This is like the trickiest way to win and argument ever. But he wouldn't lose, he must think of a comeback, if only he could resolve the meaning of this word like it is some complicated code waiting to be encrypted. However, Edward finally decided that it didn't matter. He already knew that the word was _real_ nasty, as Bella had spat that word out with all her strength. So he felt right to reuse the word in his argument.

'Well you are more 'infuriating' than me!' He said, his tongue trying hard to move precisely, attempting to pronounce the word as perfect as Bella has.

'I am not! You are! And you are a liar!' Bella's voice reached to an octave she has never achieved and her cheeks have gone beet red as she took a deep breath. How dare he contradict her! How dare he!

'No! You are the one lying! Because you are mean!' Edward's cheeks were flushed with anger, like those beautiful blushing women in the magazine Bella read yesterday. Except he didn't look pretty like those women did, he looked like one of those tomatoes with horrible taste in her dinner with his red cheeks, and his emerald eyes was burning with so much anger he looked like a monster that haunted children at night. And most of all, Edward said that she was mean. And she wasn't mean! She was just trying to explain! How could he not understand?

Beside her, the tall shelves and colourful bottles became unfocused blurs and she couldn't see anymore. Adult places are scary, she thought as tears rolled down her cheeks; mean children were always here to harm you. She didn't want to become an adult anymore. She just wanted to go home.

By the time the children's parents reached their respective child, both Bella and Edward were suffering from hiccups from crying so much with tears and a red running nose on each of their faces. But even with their tear-stained eyes and wounded little hearts hurt by each other's childish banter, they were able to look surprised when Rosalie, or Mrs Rose, as Bella liked to call it, came to them. It turned out that they were talking about the same person all along. Now that's a _real_ discovery.

So when their parents asked them what happened, they were too shocked to come up with what they believed to be a convincing lie to cover up why they had made each other cried. Truths started spilling out from each other's mouths, along with more hiccups and barely audible words that were occasionally interrupted by a sniffling nose. Bella answered Mrs Rose why she was even in the Body Shop in the first place and felt slightly better when Mrs Rose gave her a hug (she loved her hugs, they are like unicorns and rainbows and smiley faces) and patted her brown hair, having heard her side of story.

After being rewarded by Mrs Rose's great hug, it was only reasonable that she apologized to Edward for what she had said. Edward was right all along; he and his mom were not lying after all. Adults apologized when they were wrong, and Bella had to do the right thing to 'redeem' herself.

'I am sorry,' she said shyly, looking at the little bows on her shoes. She sighed, really sighed, as she reminisced their argument and mentally yelled at her about how ridiculous it sounded when she thought about it sober.

'It is okay. I am sorry too.' Edward was also looking down at the floor, his face filled with guilt. Her dad always asked him to be a gentleman, but he didn't remember that when he needed to most. Bella would not be his friend now, which was sad because he really wanted her to (not that he wanted her to know).

'I forgive you.' Bella gave a small smile and her bright voice returned to her, believing that everything that had happened just now was over. And when Edward looked up from the ground, meeting her kind eyes with his hopeful ones, Bella really looked at him for the first time. With his bronze hair glittering under the light and his green eyes shining, Bella thought that he actually looked quite nice.

Maybe he didn't have cooties, after all.

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*Totally Spies is a cartoon for little girls which is about three girl spies working for a centre called W.O.O.H.P, which stands for World Organization of Human Protection.

**A line by The Body Shop. It also comes with body butter as well as an Eau de Toilette. I have the perfume, and it just so happens to be my favourite scent, so it only feels right for it to appear in this story. :P I have never seen an advert like this by the way, so it is completely made up, just so you know.

***Radox is a brand selling shower gel etc. I often see it in Boots in UK.

****Harvana is a blush by Benefit San Francisco. The colour is a natural pink and the advert has an angel with that blusher applied on her cheeks. This blush is very gorgeous, it just gives me the right kind of flush. Not that I am advertising by any means… :3

*****This episode is completely made up. I like Tom and Jerry, but I don't like it enough to watch every episode of it :P. If it turns out there is really an episode like this, well then…

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Bella and Edward as children are so cute. They are so much different than they are in the canon, more innocent, more oblivious to the real world and the responsibilities and choices and dangers lurking out there. I hope they made you smile. :)

If you enjoy my story, or if you have suggestions on how to make it better, please send me a review. I am interested in what you all think of my writing, and I have to confess, I love reviews! It is like a present on a Chiristmas Day for me! :D

Well, that's it! I hope you like my story, and thank you so much if you decide to take time and write a review. LouiseRisa betas my stories, so if you would visit her, it will be really nice. :) If you want to read more of my work, you can also read _The Library Chronicle_, which is an AH Twilight fanfic. Or if you are interested in original stories, I have a fictionpress account, where you can find _Dying Dandelions_ on my page.

Until next time! :)

~LadyJoa de Robinson


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